Like a Clockwork
by Obsessive Child
Summary: At that day in the Valley of the End, what if Naruto had… won? It's Team Seven, united, and they're not letting anyone mess with them.


Like a Clockwork

OoOoO

"_Rasengan!"_

"_Chidori!"_

Naruto awoke with a gasp, sweat dripping down his face. He shot up, looking around frantically, only relaxing when he saw the pale, dark haired figure in a bed next to him. A loud sigh coursed through him, starting from his stomach and passing by his lips, letting the world know Uzumaki Naruto's relief. He plopped down back onto the hospital bed, spent.

Closing his eyes, Naruto allowed himself to sink into the pillows, thinking about what had happened yesterday. Or at least, what he thought was yesterday. He had passed out as soon as Kakashi had arrived at the scene, so he wasn't sure. He'd battled his best friends, Uchiha Sasuke, in able to stop him from joining Orochimaru and becoming a missing-nin. It had been an unbelievable battle, and not quite what Naruto had first envisioned when he challenged Sasuke to a fight. Still, if it hadn't been for the stakes, Naruto would have said it was the best battle of his life. He still got shivers thinking about it.

In the end, it was Naruto who had 'won', though it hardly could be called a victory. It could have easily gone the other way. Naruto had been only semi-conscious by the end of it, and Sasuke was knocked out cold. He'd only stayed awake to make sure that nobody would kidnap the dark haired boy after all the effort sent in retrieving him, and was out as soon as he saw Kakashi within his sights.

They had both been injured. Badly. Which was, Naruto supposed, the reason they were in a hospital right now.

Letting a sigh escape him, Naruto snuggled deeper into the blankets. He deserved some rest, he thought. He had never had a bed this soft before, and he briefly wondered why he was getting it now. Certainly, in all the other times he had came to the hospital, the beds had been nothing special.

Just then, he heard the door creak, and knew that somebody was coming in. Naruto struggled to sit up, and was surprised to find that it was not an easy task, despite the speed at which he had shot out of bed previously.

"Oh Naruto," Sakura's soft voice came through the doorway. In an instant she was by his side, pushing him back down again, and seating herself on a chair (how come he hadn't noticed that before?) at his bedside. "Don't get up, Naruto."

Naruto obediently nuzzled into the pillows. He had to admit that he was feeling just the slightest bit dizzy. Still… "Why're you here, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura opened her mouth, then closed it. Then, she promptly burst out crying.

Naruto shot up from bed for the third time that day, hands frantically moving about, trying to comfort but not knowing how. "Eh? Eh? Sakura-chan, what's the matter?"

"I— I— I'm sorry," Sakura sobbed out, shaking her head and pushing Naruto's hands back to his side. She looked at him with wide green eyes, tears falling like pearl drops from a flint, "I— I— I came here to apologize, and I end up— end up—"

She hiccupped.

"Sakura-chan…"

"I— I didn't come here to cry," She gasped out, removing her hands from Naruto's and using them to wipe at her tears. Naruto sat still for one very terrible moment, where Sakura continued to cry but tried desperately to stop. He was horribly unsure of what to do, yet he knew that if he tried to comfort her, Sakura would only become more upset. Her next words were chokingly said, spluttering, but sincere, "I've realized… I've realized that it was horribly unfair of me to ask you to bring Sasuke back by yourself. I hate myself for it. I'm so weak, so useless. I'm sorry… Naruto."

Naruto was quick to protest, "You're not weak, Sakura-chan!"

Her laugh was bitter, "Aren't I? Naruto, you don't have to be so nice. Haha, you're so nice… how come I didn't see it before? But I— But I— please don't say that Naruto, just please. Don't worry, I'm going to get stronger. I can't be the only one who'll drag Team Seven down, now can I?"

She said that last bit with a grin, and finally Naruto saw some of that old Sakura back. She had stopped crying, and though the tear tracks were still visible on her face, he knew that those too, would be gone soon. He grinned in reply. He never had a complaint about someone trying to get stronger, after all.

Sakura smiled at him, then raised her head to look beyond him, to Sasuke. Naruto felt a small pang in his heart as he did so, but he quickly shook that feeling off. He reasoned to himself that he was the one with the bed by the doorway, and Sasuke had the bed by the window. Of course Sakura had to look past him to see Sasuke; it was nothing personal. He looked up at the ceiling to give them some privacy.

"You know…" Sakura's soft voice drew Naruto's eyes to her. She gave him a watery smile, the shock of crying not completely gone from her body, "H-he wouldn't let you out of his sight."

Naruto didn't quite understand. "Huh?"

"Sasuke specially requested that you two would be in the same room you know. Threatened to leave again if you weren't. Wanted to keep you in his sight. The nurses didn't dare refuse him."

Was that why they had two people in this room instead of one? Naruto remembered how every time he had ended up in the hospital, he had never shared a room. Nor had any of his friends, for that matter. Was this because of Sasuke's special request?

If so, why would Sasuke request such a thing? Naruto didn't quite understand it.

He was getting dizzy, and before he knew it, the smell of cloth surrounded him. He felt pillow against his cheek, the soft fluffiness of the special bed. The room seemed darker, and he ached. It certainly was a new experience.

"Oh, what kind of medic-in-training am I?" Sakura's voice seemed strangely far away, "So many wounds and I selfishly—! I'm so sorry, Naruto, I can never seem to do something right, can I? You can sleep now, I'll be watching over you…"

And with that, Naruto drifted off once more.

When he awoke again, he could feel someone's eyes on him. It wasn't Sakura. Blearily, Naruto sat up, turning towards the direction of the stare. It was Sasuke, leaning against the wall and just… staring. Sakura was not there any longer.

Naruto blinked. "What'da you want, teme?" The words were out of his mouth before he could help it.

"Hn, dobe." There was a smirk on Sasuke's lips, but it wasn't his usual smirk. It looked more… relieved?

There was a moment's of silence, in which Naruto didn't quite know what to say. Usually he was bursting with comments, but his throat felt strangely dry today. He had thought that he would have a lot to say to Sasuke, especially after what had happened, but his mind was completely blank. The smirk slowly fell from Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke was the first to break the staring contest. He turned away, facing the front, so that his perfect profile could be seen by Naruto. "I'd never thought I'd see you in this many bandages, dobe. You always seem to heal fast."

"Hey!" Another provoked response, not quite thought through but not able to sit still in Naruto's throat, "You're hurt way loads more than I am!"

A dry chuckle. "I suppose that's true."

Another moment of silence.

This time, it was Naruto who spoke up, his voice coming out strangely soft and hesitant. "Hey Sasuke… you're not going to leave again, are you?"

Sasuke turned, looking at him, his eyes blank and dark. Naruto felt a churning of dread in his gut, fearing the worst. And then, the edge of Sasuke's mouth turned upwards, and an almost resigned sigh passed through his lips, "If you could defeat me, then that must mean that there's some value in staying in Konoha, right?"

A few days later, Tsunade assigned Sasuke a probationary period. Naruto was sure that Sasuke didn't need it.

OoOoO

He was back in his apartment, finally dispatched. It was ratty and quite frankly the hospital was more comfortable, he had lived here longer and to be honest, he was a little wary of all the kind looks the nurses were giving him. He wasn't used to it.

Sasuke had also been dispatched. It had been a little over a month after all, and it was about time that they got out. Naruto sighed a little at the thought of how much training he would have to catch up on. The only thought that kept him going was that Sasuke would be even more behind than he. He wasn't completely sure how Sasuke was when Kakashi brought them both in, but Naruto had definitely been in a better state when they allowed the two of them to go home. He had never been so thankful for the Kyuubi (except when it had allowed him to defeat Sasuke and bring the boy home). Actually, Sasuke hadn't really been allowed to leave the hospital, but Sasuke had refused to stay any longer than necessary, stating that if Naruto could leave, then so could he.

The hospital members it seemed, didn't want to go against the last Uchiha after his almost-departure. They had let him go with a duffle bag of medicine and appointments for checkups, as well as promises for rest which Naruto was sure Sasuke had no intention of keeping.

As if summoned by his thoughts of training, there was a knock on the window. Bemusedly, Naruto went over to it, briefly contemplating for a moment whether to open it or not, and ultimately deciding that he needed his training more than the chance to play a joke. He unlocked the hatches, and in another moment Jiraiya had jumped in, inspecting Naruto's apartment with a critical eye.

"Heh, and here I thought this was the dwelling of the elusive dust bunnies," Jiraiya said with a grin, before turning to Naruto and giving him a noogie, "But it's just you."

Naruto batted Jiraiya's hands away, "Watch it Ero-sennin, if you put me back in the hospital the nurses will be mad."

"Oh I'd like to see some nurses get mad at me," Jiraiya drooled, and Naruto made a face of disgust. Wiping his drool away, Jiraiya shook his head and fixated Naruto with a dead serious look. Naruto snapped to attention. "Alright kid, here's the deal. You've just got back to your apartment right? Well, get ready to leave it again."

"Eh?"

"I'm saying that you're leaving Konoha. No, don't look at me like that, I'm not talking about _missing-nin_ leaving. More like an… extended mission." The old man took a breath, and started pacing, occasionally casting a few glances at Naruto, "Right, so here's what's happening. There's this organization called Akatsuki that are after you, because you hold the Kyuubi. Itachi and that man with the shark teeth are part of this organization. They are collecting all the Tailed Beasts of the world. However, they won't move for another three years. In these three years, I can get you to be prepared for them. You'll become my personal apprentice. We'll travel the world, and at the same time you'll learn the skills you need for survival."

"…" Naruto thought for a moment. "No."

"Yes, I knew that you'd agree. Now pack your things and— Eh? What do you mean _no_?"

"No means no," Naruto said again, frowning, "It means I can't go with you, not if you intend to travel the world."

Jiraiya looked mad, "Why not?"

"You're going to leave Konoha, right? Then I can't go with you."

Jiraiya growled. Yes, actually growled. "Look brat, I know that Konoha's your home and all, but think about this opportunity here! I don't just invite anyone to be my apprentice you know!"

"I… I know that," Naruto replied, clenching his fists together. He did want to see the world but… "But if you're going to leave Konoha for a long time, I just can't go with you."

"I don't think you understand—"

"No, it's you who doesn't understand!" Naruto yelled out, stomping his feet. He felt his emotions bubble over, his rage and disappointment at the fact that Jiraiya just didn't _see_, just thought he was some stupid kid who didn't know the consequences. "Do you realize how it would look if I just spent all this time convincing Sasuke that Konoha's the best for him, and then leave myself? I can't go!"

Jiraiya froze. Naruto did too.

"You know," Jiraiya finally said, but his voice soft and no longer angry, "You can't give up your life for him."

"This isn't me who's giving up his life," Naruto responded, equally as quietly, "I'm not giving up anything, really. I'm still going to train, do missions, try to convince people to see past the Kyuubi. Really, I'd be giving up more stuff going with you. Besides, with what happened with Chouji and Neji, I think Sasuke needs all the help he can get."

Jiraiya sighed, "Since when did you get so much like my old apprentice, brat?"

Naruto assumed that this was a good thing. He shrugged, "I dunno. I did a lot of thinking in the hospital; there wasn't a lot else to do. Everything could have easily gone the other way, and I realized… that I wasn't strong enough. Defeating Sasuke was a fluke, and a dangerous one. I never want a fight to be that close again. I want to get stronger. I know that going with you will teach me a lot of things, but I believe that staying in Konoha can make me equally as strong, if not stronger. Konoha is my home."

Jiraiya's lips spasmed, "And Akatsuki?"

"Like you said, they won't be coming for me for another three years, so I don't think I'll be bringing any harm to the village by staying."

"Well, how 'bout this then? You have to learn how to control the Kyuubi, you can't do that in the village."

"Then I'll request special missions with you," Naruto replied stubbornly, "But you can't make me leave the village all together."

The toad sage glared at him. Naruto glared back.

Finally, Jiraiya relented, scowling, "Fine, have it your way. I'll be nice and come around every once in a while, teach you to control the Kyuubi as well as some other things. But this means that when I _am_ here, you'll have to use your Kage Bunshin to their full potential, so you can learn as much as you can. I dunno why you haven't been using them, but that can no longer happen."

"Huh? Whadda'ya mean? I have been using them in my fights and stuff."

The old man blinked, his eyebrows furrowing downwards like the wings of a great eagles, "Do you mean to tell me brat, that you actually don't know the full extent of your favourite technique?"

"The full extent? What're ya talking about Ero-sennin? Explain!"

"Idiot! You're more stupid than I thought! Ugh, what happened to your good grammar, does that only appear when you're arguing with me or something…? Huh, to think that you didn't know about the Kage Bunshin… fine, fine, The Great Jiraiya-sama will explain it to you, since he is so kind and all."

"So will you just explain it already," Naruto asked, annoyed.

"Right, right. So, these Kage Bunshin…"

Jiraiya explained it all, and Naruto could have smacked himself for not being able to see it sooner.

OoOoO

"Obasan!" Naruto kicked open the door to the Hokage's office, ignoring the sighs of his teammates behind him. With a confident grin, he walked up to Tsunade's desk, leaning in confidently, "So, what brings you to call Konoha's best team, eh?"

It was surprising that Tsunade had called all three of them, even more surprising when they found out Kakashi had been called as well. They weren't exactly sure what type of mission would require three jounin and one chuunin.

It had been three years since Team Seven's graduation, and each formidable in their own right. Naruto and Sasuke were both jounin now, the 'Sage of the Winds' and 'Lightning Phantom', respectively. Sakura was a skilled medic-nin, and the only reason she hadn't gotten a name like Naruto and Sasuke was because she hadn't been in the field very often. She had to start learning medical jutsu from scratch after all, and healing required a bit more knowledge than the training Sasuke and Naruto had done. Plus, she didn't exactly have their advantages in Kage Bunshin and the Sharingan.

After the first disastrous chuunin exam, and then the next one in Iwa, Team Seven had finally made it to chuunin level together, in Kumo. The people of Lightning Country had a big shock when three genin from Konoha passed in one year. Naruto had even met the two Jinchuriki there— Killer Bee and Yugito, and fought against Killer Bee's team during the exams. He had taken a liking to them, even if Killer Bee's tendency to break into rap was annoying and Yugito's attempts to set him up with Kumo nin was a little embarrassing. Sasuke had scored another hit, with a girl named Karui, though he hadn't been pleased about that. Naruto smiled just thinking about the events.

Naruto's smile wilted slightly at the dead serious look Tsunade had on her face.

"I have a mission for you three," Tsunade said, her voice grim. Naruto instantly snapped to attention, taking a step back and adopting a sober expression. He knew Tsunade's moods well, and he knew that whatever this mission was, it was going to have serious implications. "Listen carefully. The Kazekage has been attacked by Akatsuki. You are to go immediately to Suna, find out the situation, and relay it to Konoha… After that, follow the orders of Suna and back them up."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, instantly understand the implications and the words that Tsunade hadn't said. When Gaara had made Kazekage after all, Naruto had been the first one he invited. He felt his fists clench at his sides.

And then, he felt a pair of hands wrap around his own, soft and warm. He turned his head, following the hands to the arms to the head and finally to the kind face of Hanura Sakura. She smiled gently, "Don't worry Naruto, we'll get Gaara back."

"He is the Kazekage," Sasuke said dryly, taking a step forward and giving Naruto a wry glance, "A Kage should be able to handle himself, right? Gaara should be able to handle himself until we get there, right?"

Naruto smiled weakly, "You guys…"

"If it's Team Seven," Kakashi eye-smiled, holding his hand out towards Tsunade for the mission details, "We can do it."

OoOoO

They were intercepted by the one person Naruto did not want to see the most. That, and his partner.

"Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun," Itachi greeted them, before pausing as his eyes landed on the last well-known member of their group, "Otouto-san…"

Naruto sucked in a breath, and stole a glance at the other members of their makeshift team. Kakashi had landed in his relaxed-battle stance, and Sakura had her fists clenched tightly from the restraint she was using not to go rushing at the Uchihas' murderer. The old lady Chiyo, whom they had recently met in Suna, just looked confused, but Naruto wasn't really paying attention to any of them. He was looking at Sasuke, who had his head down, black hair obscuring his eyes.

There was a tense moment, and finally Sasuke raised his head, eyes blazing with the red of the Sharingan. "Do not call me that, Nukenin-san. My brother is standing beside me, though he is the younger one."

Naruto let a relieved grin awash his face. He replied crossly like always, but it was only half hearted. He was much too happy to put any real argument into it. "Hey what're you talking about? You might be born earlier, but I'm definitely more mentally mature than you!"

"You? Mentally mature," Sasuke snorted, drawing out the sword he had at his hip, "Try again when Kiri decides to throw a party and invite everyone to it."

Was it just Naruto's imagination, or did he see a brief smile flit across Itachi's face? Before he could question that line of thought further, the shark man decided to step in.

"Enough chatting," the shark man growled, taking a step forward and sliding his sword out from the sheath on his back. He reminded Naruto of Zabuza, but just a little. "Are we gonna fight, or what?"

"I do believe the purpose of us being here was to detain them," Itachi replied wryly, also taking a step forward, "If they wished to talk among themselves, there is really no problem."

"Aw Itachi, you ruin all my fun," the shark man whined, and then a large, ghastly grin erupted from his face, "But you know what? If we kill them, then we won't have to worry about detaining them, right?"

"Who's gonna kill who?" Naruto demanded, "We'll kick your ass, believe it!"

There was a time where Naruto might have gotten so angry that he lost all reason, but not any longer. Not after three years with Team Seven and a year as a jounin. Not with all the negotiations and paperwork he had to do for the Hokage and his teammates here to calm him down. Besides, Sasuke had not flown into a rage in the face of Itachi, and Naruto could hardly let Sasuke beat him.

"Naruto, Sakura," Kakashi eye-smiled, but his voice was commanding, "I'll let you two take care of Hoshigaki Kisame. Sasuke, don't look Itachi in the eyes. Alright team, go!"

They were off in the next second. Naruto couldn't see what Sasuke and Kakashi were doing, but that hardly mattered. He trusted them to handle themselves. Hands forming in his favourite cross seal, Naruto sent three of his Kage Bunshin towards the sword-wielding Akatsuki member. Kisame growled, and slashed at them. However, Naruto's Kage Bunshin were just as fast as he was, and the three managed to land a hit before the shark nin disposed of the three of them.

Naruto bit his thumb, "Sakura! His left side is his blind side! By the shoulder!"

"Got'cha!" Sakura's voice resounded, coming from just above Kisame. Kisame's eyes widened, and he looked up just as Sakura descended, her fist pulled back to unleash a powerful punch.

"Aw hel—" Kisame didn't get to finish as Sakura's fist ploughed into him, sending up a plume of dust and leaving nothing but rubble. When the dust cleared, there was a large crater in the ground, Sakura crouching in the center. Kisame's body was hardly visible through all the debris.

"Great going Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, hopping over to the edge of her crater. Once again he reminded himself not to do anything that would warrant her wrath.

"Oh, so you guys are finished too." It was Kakashi's voice. A moment later, the masked man appeared beside Naruto, eye-smiling as he gazed down at Sakura's figure, "Good job, Naruto, Sakura."

"Hm," Sasuke snorted, stepping forward so that he was at Naruto's other side, "You took longer than us, dobe."

Naruto felt his eye twitch, and he turned around with a glare at the Uchiha. He stuck out his tongue, "Yeah well, we still took down a S-class nin, and we didn't have a S-class nin like you did! So, Sakura-chan and I did better than you!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and it was then that Naruto noticed his fists were clenched, "It's not like you even took down a S-class nin, dobe."

"Eh? What?"

"What he means is," Sakura's said grimly as she finished clearing the rubble off of 'Kisame', "These people aren't the real Akatsuki."

Naruto's eyes widened, "What the…?"

Where Kisame should have been, was instead another ninja who though looked similar, was definitely not the Kiri missing-nin.

"Itachi was like that too," Sasuke said steely, and Naruto thought he finally understood why Sasuke was clenching his fists so hard, "It wasn't really him."

"I wonder what happened though," Kakashi mused, rubbing his chin, "It wasn't genjutsu, or else Sasuke and I wouldn't have missed it. It also couldn't have been an imposter, because those jutsu that they used can't be copied."

Chiyo finally stepped forwards. She had been quiet throughout the battle, and Naruto had almost forgotten that she was there. Key word: almost. "I think I might have an explanation for that…"

OoOoO

Naruto hopped from tree to tree, the Kyuubi threatening to burst out from him. It was only the fact that Sasuke was at his side that stopped him from doing so. If Sasuke did not depend on the power of the cursed seal, then Naruto couldn't depend on the fickle power of the fox.

They were currently chasing Deidara, who had swallowed Gaara in his huge freak of a clay bird, which was the reason why Naruto was so mad. He was mad at himself that he hadn't made it in time to save the young Kazekage, and mad that he had let a member of Akatsuki do something so despicable to his friend's corpse. He vowed to maim the Iwa nin if he ever go his hands on him.

Just then, another one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin popped, flooding Naruto with a wealth of memories. He didn't even stumble in his step as he processed it all. He had gotten far too used to using his Kage Bunshin in his day-to-day life, whether it was for training or information gathering.

When the team of five had first arrived at the door that separated them from Gaara, Kakashi had noted that it was a five point seal, meaning that there were four other similar tags around the place that acted as a lock on the door. The five tags had to be ripped off at the same time. Naruto had made a bunch of Kage Bunshin, and sent them out to find the tags. It took a while, but they finally managed to find all of them, and the resulting actions had been explosive.

Sakura had punched through the doorway, allowing them entry. They met the two Akatsuki members Deidara and Sasori. It had been at that time that one of Naruto's Kage Bunshins dispelled, and he realized that they were fighting a trap that had sprung from the release of the seals. Thankfully, Kage Bunshin received no real damage, and Naruto decided not to dispel the rest of the Kage Bunshin to see what other information they could gather.

And then, Deidara did a despicable act and gobbled up Gaara's body. Naruto had shot after the Iwa nin without another thought, but Sasuke had caught up to him quickly. Sasuke told him that Kakashi, Sakura, and Chiyo would be staying behind to fight Sasori, and Kakashi trusted two jounin of Konoha to not make Fire Country look bad. Sasuke had also added his own two cents about how it would be a shame if the future Hokage of Konoha were to die in Suna. He had probably been talking about Kakashi, but the statement nonetheless calmed Naruto down. He remembered that he had to think of Konoha too, and it wouldn't do any of them any good if he fought without control.

"Naruto, remember what we did that day in the mission at Waterfall? With Hibiki?" Sasuke suddenly asked, his eyes never leaving the prey flying overhead. Neither of them were long ranged specialists, though they could do fight enemies at a distance. With Naruto's wind and Sasuke's lighting jutsu, they really should have easily been able to take down a flying nuisance. However, this particular flying nuisance also had Naruto's friend on it, and Naruto was loathe to mark up Gaara's corpse. This left them the option of being creative.

Naruto blinked, and thought about it. When the memory finally came to him, he let a feral grin spread across his face, "Of course. I take it you'll be Hibiki?"

"As if you could pull of what he did," Sasuke snorted, turning to look with a grin at Naruto before vanishing from sight.

That day was the end of both Meisters Sasori and Deidara.

When their duty was done, and Chiyo had given her life for Gaara's, the Konoha quadrant finally went to inspect the corpses Kisame and Itachi had used. While it was true that it was Suna's responsibility, Team Seven had decided it couldn't hurt to see what abilities their enemies had. While inspecting the corpses, Sasuke had found something on them that he had not noticed before, a folded sheet of paper with his name on it. Confused, Sasuke opened it, and saw nothing. And then, his eyes widened as if in realization, before slowly bleeding red. Naruto and Sakura still did not see anything, but Sasuke sucked in a breath as if he had been stabbed through.

Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other, realizing that the message could only been seen with the Sharingan. "What does it say?"

"It says," Sasuke said dazedly, "It might be time to test your full capacity, little brother…"

OoOoO

It had also told Sasuke to go alone.

Like heck Sakura and Naruto were going to let him. Sasuke had been annoyed at their persistence, because it might be his one chance to kill his brother, but Naruto had argued that he didn't stand of chance of getting Itachi by himself anyway, so why go just to be killed?

Sasuke had finally agreed, thankfully, so now here Naruto and Sakura were, hiding outside the temple as they awaited Sasuke's signal. Naruto was straining his ears trying to listen to Sasuke's and Itachi's conversation.

"Your friends," Itachi's voice suddenly raised, echoing loudly in the ruins, "Why don't you invite them inside?"

Naruto tensed, and cursed. He got up.

"Should have expected that," Sakura muttered, "He is a genius for a reason."

They went inside. Inside the circular temple was surprisingly empty, save for the single chair at the end in which Itachi was sitting on. He looked at them as if they were bugs, but there was a slight lilt to his lips that would just not go away. Naruto thought he might be laughing at them.

There was a small crater in front of them, to the left. A few dead animals were also lying around. The air was filled with the feeling of electric discharge. Sasuke stood in the center, panting. Naruto and Sakura hurried to his side.

"What happened?" Naruto whispered, "Looks like there was a battle, but I didn't hear."

"It was genjutsu," Sasuke wheezed back, before raising his voice again, "But you're going to have to do better than that if you want to catch me."

"Speaking of genjutsu," Sakura grinned, and without warning, threw something to the left. There was a gasp, and something fell out of the wall. They all turned to look, seeing an odd black and white plant-like man. Sakura clenched her fists, her eyes narrowing, "You'll have to do better than that to escape my detection."

"Zetsu?" It seemed as if the words just slipped out of Itachi's mouth. Even he looked surprised.

"Gah, this is no good," the one deemed 'Zetsu' said, struggling to get himself off the ground, "I'm no good at fighting. I wanted to observe but… I guess I'll see ya around, Itachi."

And before anyone could do anything, the weird plant-like man had sunken into the ground, all traces of him disappearing.

"Hm," Itachi turned back to the Konoha trio, "Well Naruto-kun, otouto-san, it seems as if your companion is not one who lacks in ability. What is your name, medic?"

Sakura tensed, astonished that he had been able to figure out she was a medical ninja so quickly.

Sasuke snarled, "Don't you dare talk to Sakura. You don't have the right."

"Sakura-chan, huh?" Itachi asked, tasting the name on his lips. He arose from his chair, and took one step towards them. "Very well, you are correct. I am getting off topic here. My objective was to retrieve your eyes if I recall."

"Wait! What the hell?" Naruto turned to Sasuke, "What does he mean by that?"

Sasuke furrowed his brows, "I don't…"

"The truth about the Uchiha clan," Itachi said, a sick smile spread across his face, "It's time for you to hear the lies within me, otouto-san."

And then, he explained it all, the stomach-turning story of Uchiha Madara and the Mangekyou Sharingan. The beginnings of Konoha, the failings of their founder. What he planned to do with Sasuke's eyes, and the bond of brothers…

"That's…" Sasuke looked like he didn't know what to say at the end of the explanation, but the pain and confusion was clear in his eyes. Then, he felt two hands grip his shoulders. To his right was Naruto, and to his left was Sakura, each lending him their support. He smiled. He turned back towards his former brother, his eyes dark, "That's irrelevant. What you should be worrying about… is the fact that today we're going to kill you."

And was it just Naruto's imagination, or did he just see Itachi smile?

OoOoO

It was painful, painful like he had never experienced before. He had had his fair share of nasty wounds (the battle at the Valley of the End came to mind) but it had been nothing quite like this. He felt as if his insides were being ripped out, all because of the black chakra.

He wished he could move at least, but the chakra rods that had pinned Naruto to the ground did not give him any quarter. If he tried, he could move his head, but that was it. More frustrating was the fact that Pain was trying to lecture to him, thought that he was doing everything for the peace of the world. Naruto wished he could show Pain that he was wrong, but his helpless position did not allow him any leniency.

"Hang in there kid!" Shima Ma's voice cried out to him, snapping Naruto out from his daze. He turned his head to look towards her, quite frankly a little surprised she had survived. "Don't listen to him no matter what he says! You're the child of phrophecy! You will save the world! You can't lose! Jiraiya and Pa gave their lives because they believed in you! I'll never forgive you if you give in now—ack!"

"Noisy frog," Pain said distastefully, having sent a small force towards her. Ma was now lying on the ground, as unmoving as her counterpart.

"You—you bastard!" Naruto cried.

Pain did not seem to care about Naruto's opinion of him. He turned back towards the blond, raising his right hand, "It's time for us to go…"

And then, suddenly, he was blasted backwards by a gale force. Pain staggered, eyes narrowing as he gazed at the two new arrivals. Sakura and Sasuke landed next to Naruto, glaring at the Akatsuki member fiercely.

"You guys are late," Naruto laughed with a wince, "Are you catching our sensei's bad habits?"

Sasuke actually did wince, "I sincerely hope not. Sakura, heal him. I'll distract Pain for a while. Naruto, don't take too long to get your sorry act together; I don't have much chakra left."

Sakura bit her lip, "Don't overdo it."

With a nod, Sasuke was off. True to his word, he fought Pain remarkably well, even with the limited amount of chakra he had. He was not proclaimed a genius for no reason after all. Sakura did not even look in Sasuke's direction. She was solely focused on freeing and healing Naruto, the only hope of the village. Like Sasuke had said, they were out of chakra, having been helping the villagers when Pain first attacked. Naruto was the only one fresh enough to do any real damage, and if what Kakashi said about the senjutsu was true, possibly the only one who could deal real damage to Pain anyway.

Finally, the green light from her hands faded, and Naruto stood up, turning towards the direction he last saw Sasuke battling Pain. Sakura clenched her fists, "You know what I said earlier? About not overdoing it? That applies to you too, you know."

"I know," Naruto grinned, "Don't worry Sakura-chan, I won't die before making it to be Hokage."

"Idiot," Sakura said with tears in her eyes, "Who cares about Hokage? You still owe Sasuke and I ramen from that one time that you forgot to bring your wallet. You—you ate us out of our week's mission pay. You just can't die before paying us back, got it?"

"Sure thing Sakura-chan," Naruto said with one last smile, before he turned away from her and his expression turned serious. He leapt towards the place where Sasuke and Pain were fighting, arriving just in time to see Pain preparing to deliver a final blow onto Sasuke's torn body. The dark haired boy was crouching a few meters away, panting heavily as he clutched a sluggishly bleeding wound. He looked too tired to even run anymore.

Pain did not care for sympathy. He unleashed his attack, and Sasuke in his state couldn't avoid it. Thankfully, Naruto could. Jumping into the fray, Naruto snatched Sasuke by the arm, dragging him away from the blast. Dust plumed into the air, but Sasuke and Naruto were far away from the crater that had just formed. Sasuke nodded in thanks and Naruto let go of his arm. Instantly, the dark haired boy started sprinting back towards the direction Sakura was at.

"Hey Pain," Naruto growled as he turned back towards Pain and formed his favourite cross seal, "You opponent… is me."

OoOoO

Naruto took a deep breath, "You're sure about this?"

Sasuke growled, his grip on Naruto's arm tightening as he dragged Naruto towards the white tent, "You know it too, so stop trying to deny it. There's a real possibility that Danzo will become the next Hokage, and if what we know about him is true…"

"Right, right," Naruto murmured, "Alright then, let's go bust that sneaky snake's ass."

Sasuke smiled, and let go of Naruto's arm, then pushed him inside.

Instantly, all eyes were on him, making Naruto cringe inwardly. He didn't show that however. Naruto had spent years practicing, and Sasuke had drilled in the blond's head all the things he had learned in his childhood had been trained to deal with situations like this. To deal with important people like these.

The Fire Daimyo blinked from behind his fan, and then a smile spread across his face, "Oh Naruto-kun! What brings you here?"

Naruto had seen the Fire Daimyo once or twice, when Tsunade had to meet up with them. He'd acted as an escort for the busty blond a few times, though he swore that she just brought him to do the paperwork. Needless to say, with the Fire Daimyo's careless attitude but sharp mind, and Naruto's equally open but clever personality, they had taken an instant liking to each other.

Naruto allowed a frown to spread across his features, "Bad new I'm afraid. Rinji-san, I heard you are selecting the new Hokage?"

The nobles twittered, but the Fire Daimyo seemed pleased, "Ah, so you remembered to call me by that name. Good, good. To answer your question Naruto-kun, yes I am choosing a new Hokage. I was thinking of Danzo."

The other ninjas in the tent tensed.

"But…" the Daimyo continued, looking thoughtful, "Now that you're here… well, why hadn't I thought of this before? Naruto-kun, you said that you have always wanted to be Hokage, right?"

Naruto stiffened, his eyes widening. Surely the Fire Daimyo didn't mean…?

"You save Konoha, you're probably the strongest ninja, and your diplomacy skills are not bad," the leader of the fire Daimyo said, ticking these traits off on his finger, "What more could you ask for in a Hokage? Does anyone have any objections?"

Everyone was too surprised by the sudden turn of events to have any suggestions really. But like always, the Nara clan was on top of it.

"I second the notion," Nara Shikaku said hurriedly before anyone could formulate some kind of comeback. He then sat back, looking as calm and bored as always, "I'm sure no one will oppose our savior becoming our leader. Without him, Konoha wouldn't even be standing."

Danzo looked as if he just swallowed something very very nasty, and was unable to spit it back out.

Naruto wasn't quite on the ride, "But—but—I'm much too young!"

"Nonsense," the Fire Daimyo waved dismissively, "The Yondaime Hokage was only twenty-one when he became Hokage. Plus, age has nothing to do with it. Like I said, you're a leader that Konoha will follow. This is my final decision Naruto-kun, don't tempt me into scolding you like a school boy."

"He is fine with it," Shikaku interrupted, his voice amused. He ignored the glare that Naruto sent him. "He is just in a state of shock. You know how much Naruto wanted to become Hokage. Why wouldn't he be fine?"

"Yes, yes, you're right." The Fire Daimyo giggled, "My judgment is very good. Well, well, Naruto, do come for a visit sometime. My daughter especially misses you. Alright, I believe we've kept you long enough, now don't you have a village to run?"

Dumbly, Naruto nodded, turning back and walking straight out of the tent. He could not refuse the Fire Daimyo anymore without offending him, friend or no. So… he was Hokage.

Instantly, Sasuke rushed up to him.

"So how was it?" The dark haired boy questioned, "Did the Daimyo believe our suspicions? Who was made the Rokudaime?"

"It's me." Naruto said dazedly.

"What's you?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"I became Hokage."

"Oh, so it's like tha—wait, _what_?"

"I became Hokage," Naruto muttered, staggering forwards. Then, the words finally, finally seemed to hit him. Blue eyes brightened, shiny as the stars. Naruto leapt into the air, yelling as loudly as his voice would let him, "I BECAME HOKAGE! YATTA!"

OoOoO

War was a terrible thing.

It had started with the Kage summit and Madara. Naruto had left for the Kage summons a few days after the Pain attack, with Sakura and Sasuke as his guards. He wouldn't have trusted anyone else nearly as much. Before he left, he had given a speech, one in which everyone had cheered. It had given him a warm feeling inside, and made tears well up in his eyes. Sakura had said that it was inspiring, but he didn't know about that. All he knew was that Konoha was _his_ inspiration.

He had trusted Kakashi and Shizune with Konoha until he got back, knowing that the genius could probably figure out anything and Tsunade's first apprentice probably knew more about the paperwork than the Godaime herself. Naruto was sure Konoha was in good hands.

When they got to the Kage summit, things were a little more complicated. Gaara had been pleasantly surprised to see that Naruto had reached his dream, though Naruto had said that there were other people's dreams he now had to accomplish. Jiraiya's and Pain's being the priority. With that in mind, Naruto set about convincing the four other Kages that working together was the way to go, with the endorsement of Gaara and surprisingly, the Mizukage.

The other two unfortunately, thought Naruto's dreams of peace were naïve. When Madara busted the party however, they had decided that they _had_ to work together until the threat of Akatsuki was done and over with. Naruto hoped to convince them during that time that the ninja villages could all function together, and didn't have to be at war.

And then of course, the war started. Tsunade had revived, and at first there were protesters of people who wanted to keep Naruto in a safe house, but Naruto had refused and they realized that there was no way to trick him. Not with the intelligence he had gained over the years, and Sasuke and Sakura by his side. Naruto was the Rokudaime, and he was the one leading Konoha.

And then they realized that they would be fighting a whole army of zetsus and the undead. It seemed that Kabuto had betrayed Orochimaru somewhere down the line and joined up with Madara. That just wouldn't do. Naruto was leery about war, but he definitely was not going to sit back and watch his ninja die because of little puppets.

Team Seven was going for the head.

Which was the reason they were standing above Madara's broken body right now, gazing down at him coldly. They had already disposed of Kabuto.

"Ho—how?" Madara gasped out, "How did you defeat me?"

"Come now," Sasuke smiled, his teeth bloody. He was sporting a large gash on his face that Naruto wondered if ever would heal and a broken arm. They were all near chakra exhaustion. "I thought you were supposed to a genius. Do I have to reiterate the entire battle for you?"

"No—not that. Ho—how did you guys know about… the secret of my immortality? The ways to defeat the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan? You—you couldn't have—"

"Itachi told us," it was Sakura who replied.

Madara's eyes widened, "_What?_"

Naruto smiled, and it was not at all a kind smile. "What, did you think we'd kill him? I knew there was something fishy going on about Itachi. I helped the old hag a lot in the office, and as a favour to Sasuke I tried to find every file there was about his brother. Guess what I found?"

"So we defeated him," Sakura continued, "But we didn't kill him. We didn't quite know at the time _what_ was wrong with his story, but we knew something didn't add up. Even if he was as evil as he appeared to be, I wanted to keep him alive since he was a member of Akatsuki Konoha could finally question. All the other members we've defeated so far either have killed themselves or are much too dangerous to keep around. Thankfully Itachi had a debilitating illness, so I thought I could take advantage of it."

"He's under intensive care, now," Sasuke finished grimly, "But he is alive. I'm still really upset about how he was playing around with me, but I suppose it worked out for the best so I'm not going to kill him all over again. He explained everything when Tsunade-sama ordered him to and Naruto did his little power speech. And then, he told us how to defeat you. He had been following you around for the past few years in able to find your weakness, and he succeeded."

"So it is the apprentice that betrays the master," Madara muttered, his voice dark. "Still, even if you had the knowledge… I would understand it if I were defeated by another Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan or even the Kyuubi at its full powers, but how could three little brats—!"

"So what was I supposed to be then, just cannon fodder?" Sakura snorted, crossing her arms. She had been the one to bring Madara down in the end, using her insane chakra-enhanced strength.

"Powers are cool and all, but they won't get you anywhere," Naruto said with a feral grin, "Because you see, there is something called _teamwork_."

"Quite," Sasuke replied with a cold smile, "Someone who does not even understand that does not deserve the name 'Uchiha'. Goodbye, ancestor."

And with that, the three struck, ending the plague that had followed the ninja world ever since its creation.

OoOoO

The word was cheering now.

They had gotten rid of the head before too many casualties could be made, and nobody was upset about that. In the course of the war, somehow, somehow the five great ninja villages had managed to get along. Of course, things weren't perfect now, but they were getting there. Naruto thought that Jiraiya's and Pain's dream of peace might not be so far away.

The Tsuchikage and the Raikage had retreated to their lands, but Naruto had made friends with the Hachibi and promised to visit Lightning Country. Though the Raikage wasn't amiable towards Naruto quite as of yet, Naruto was optimistic that his visits would slowly wear down the durable leader. The Tsuchikage was an entirely different matter, but he wasn't on a warpath to obliterate Konoha after he found out about Naruto's heritage, so Naruto had hope.

The Mizukage on the other hand...

"Oh, hey."

"Yeah?"

Naruto grinned, "Didn't you say sometime that you'd acknowledge me as more mentally mature than you if Kiri threw a party and then invited everyone to it?"

For a moment, they just stared at him.

Sakura was the first one to break down. She started giggling.

Sasuke's eyes twitched.

Naruto just threw back his head, and laughed.

OoOoO

Sasuke had his brother now.

Sakura had her parents.

Naruto had Konoha.

But most of all, Team Seven had each other.


End file.
